ECV Accidernt at MK

[GrammyJudy]

I am just home from WDW and on Friday I had an accident with my ECV at the MK. They have changed the bus load at MK so that ECV and WC go through the maze like the walkers and not down the side to the front. Anyway I tried to do that and The turns are very sharp as the lines are narrow. I didn't quite make one turn and ended up under one of the chains. First it was terrifying and I screamed and a stranger came and helped me. Second I am very badly bruised on both my arms. When I got on the bus I told the driver and told him I wnated to complain and ask that they rethink this policy. Anyway a supervisor came over and talked to me. I said I didn't need medical help because the bruises didn't appear until the next day. Anyway I want to warn anyone goung to the MK on an ECV. I will not do the line again I will drive to the front and I don't care what they say! BTW I didn;t feel Disney did anything to make me feel they cared!

 

[sjs314]

I am just home from WDW and on Friday I had an accident with my ECV at the MK. They have changed the bus load at MK so that ECV and WC go through the maze like the walkers and not down the side to the front. Anyway I tried to do that and The turns are very sharp as the lines are narrow. I didn't quite make one turn and ended up under one of the chains. First it was terrifying and I screamed and a stranger came and helped me. Second I am very badly bruised on both my arms. When I got on the bus I told the driver and told him I wnated to complain and ask that they rethink this policy. Anyway a supervisor came over and talked to me. I said I didn't need medical help because the bruises didn't appear until the next day. Anyway I want to warn anyone goung to the MK on an ECV. I will not do the line again I will drive to the front and I don't care what they say! BTW I didn;t feel Disney did anything to make me feel they cared!

I am glad you did not get seriously injured I am sure it could have been much worse. I am considering renting a ECV in March and your experience just scares me to death. Being how crowded those line are when waiting for a bus it seems dangerous for other guests also to have people with ECV in the line. JMO. Did the Supervisor fill out an Incident Report ?

So very sorry you had such a terrible expierence.

 

[TLSnell1981]

What great mind decided to change this policy? This doesn't make ANY sense...

 

[GrammyJudy]

She took my name and room number but no one called to see if I was ok

Even the bus driver said it was a bad idea. The supervisor said it was because most handicapped people want to be treated as equals.

When someone gets run over maybe they will stop...supposedly it is onb a triak basis but luckily none of the other parks have done it. I am planing to send a letter to Disney transportation. Maybe a photo of my bruises will cinvince them to rethink their policy

By the way I had no trouble going through any of the ride lines! And I just use the ECV because of my arthritis in my back and a torn meniscus in my right knee.

 

[sharadoc]

They did this to respond to all the complainers who think that ECV users get treated "special". The genius who decided to do this obviously has no idea what the lines are like and how easy it would be to maneuver in them.

I think the compromise would be your family goes through the line and you wait and join them. Why couldn't they figure that out.

So sorry this had to happen to you. I hope you heal quickly. We're just back yesterday - wasn't it a beautiful week to be there??

 

[disney david]

She took my name and room number but no one called to see if I was ok

Even the bus driver said it was a bad idea. The supervisor said it was because most handicapped people want to be treated as equals.

When someone gets run over maybe they will stop...supposedly it is onb a triak basis but luckily none of the other parks have done it. I am planing to send a letter to Disney transportation. Maybe a photo of my bruises will cinvince them to rethink their policy

By the way I had no trouble going through any of the ride lines! And I just use the ECV because of my arthritis in my back and a torn meniscus in my right knee.

The reason they did not call you back to see how you was because you told them you didn't need medical help so to them you was fine. if you need medical help or was showing injury they would most likely call to see if your okay. You could send them the photo but in their report it will be their was no sign of bruises at the time the report was done. Writing them is a good idea so they can get feed back on this policy and hopefully make changes,

They did this to respond to all the complainers who think that ECV users get treated "special". The genius who decided to do this obviously has no idea what the lines are like and how easy it would be to maneuver in them.

I think the compromise would be your family goes through the line and you wait and join them. Why couldn't they figure that out.

So sorry this had to happen to you. I hope you heal quickly. We're just back yesterday - wasn't it a beautiful week to be there??

Your right that is why they did it and that also why they know limit you to6 people total through the back door. It should just be the guest in the ecv/wheel chair and 1 member to help them up the ramp and help them into the spot.

 

[SueM in MN]

What great mind decided to change this policy? This doesn't make ANY sense...

They have been gradually changing all of the bus lines over about the last 2 years to make them mainstream.
I agree that it doesn’t seem to be working well.

I suggest the OP contact Disney and let them know what happened and why this change caused a problem for you. You can start off with this link:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/contact/

 

[I Love Pluto]

I am SO SORRY that you had to drive an ECV through the regular lines!
I am SO SORRY that you were hurt.
I hope your body and your spirit heal quickly.


The persons making the decisions for ECV users should navigate these lines themselves. When THEY can do this maze easily, then they could consider having HC people using them.
Even then, my hands cannot possibly run the ECV steering in a maze like a non-handicapped person can.

I am horrified to know that I will have to endure this type of pressure on my April trip. I would LOVE to MEET THE ECV USER who asked for this type of "equal treatment". This is not equality, it is HC abuse. If I can steer my ECV through a maze on a crowded bus line, then why would I be in it in the first place????!!!!

Again - feel better soon!

 

[SueM in MN]

They did this to respond to all the complainers who think that ECV users get treated "special". The genius who decided to do this obviously has no idea what the lines are like and how easy it would be to maneuver in them.

I think the compromise would be your family goes through the line and you wait and join them. Why couldn't they figure that out.

So sorry this had to happen to you. I hope you heal quickly. We're just back yesterday - wasn't it a beautiful week to be there??

That sounds like a good compromise, but actually would prevent most people using ECVs or wheelchairs from being loaded unless their other family members were close enough to the front of the line that there was room to get loaded when they got there.

The reason they did not call you back to see how you was because you told them you didn't need medical help so to them you was fine. They took you info and your resort so they can do an internal report of the incident if you need medical help or was showing injury they would most likely call to see if your okay.

Your right that is why they did it and that also why they know limit you to6 people total through the back door. It should just be the guest in the ecv/wheel chair and 1 member to help them up the ramp and help them into the spot.

They probably did not call you back for the reason disney david mentioned.

One of the reasons they are mainstreaming the lines is that the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requires things to be mainstreamed as much as possible. That works OK in city buses where the loading for guests with wheelchairs/ECVs is at the front door and the wheelchair spots are at the front door. It does not work well at WDW because the buses load at the back for guest with disabilities. If they wait in the regular line, besides the manouvering problem, it is likely that the bus will be too full for loading when they get to the front. That can happen even if the bus has plenty of room for guests who walk on.

 

[TLSnell1981]

We visit 2-3 times a year, our last one was in October. AK and MK are the only parks we use the bus..usually just AK. This is awful news, especially since DMiL uses an ECV too and travels with us frequently. It's hard enough getting 2 ECVs on a bus, under the old policy. Our family had to split up on several occasions because there wasn't enough room for both.

Disney seems to be on a roll. This is just one more reason NOT to vacation at WDW. We only have one trip planned this year and none for next... This reinforces our decision.

 

[LWallace2012]

We travel with my daughter whom is usually in a manual wheelchair. We usually choose to step back and let lines of people load first and we wait on the next bus or next two buses before loading unless we need to get back to the room due to a seizure or etc. We did this due to past experiences when main stream line people are nasty, and I mean nasty!
I could understand people stepping back which in turn is why supervisors doing this. It is not Disney viewing and requesting wheelchair people, as much as people whom do not have someone in a wheelchair and complaining or being nasty and fighting to get that seat on the bus. My family knows if there is someone elderly, pregnant, handicapped, or holding a little one to give up seats. Some people do not. It is sad.
Several occasions I have had to stand with a service animal on the bus and I will say that was fun to watch hehe

 

[PatsMom]

I was just at Disney two weeks ago. Despite what the offical policy might be, I just want to say that I never saw an ECV or wheelchair go through the line for the bus. Seemed like they were doing everything the way its been done for years - wheelchairs and ECV's load first and come off last. The family went with the wheelchair or ECV guest. I was kind of surprised because of what I read here about changes to the policy.

We used the bus to all of the parks. Admittedly it was a slow time but we rode with several guests in chairs.

 

[disney david]

I was just at Disney two weeks ago. Despite what the offical policy might be, I just want to say that I never saw an ECV or wheelchair go through the line for the bus. Seemed like they were doing everything the way its been done for years - wheelchairs and ECV's load first and come off last. The family went with the wheelchair or ECV guest. I was kind of surprised because of what I read here about changes to the policy.

We used the bus to all of the parks. Admittedly it was a slow time but we rode with several guests in chairs.

The only policy the drivers will enforce from the new set of rules is that only 6 people are allowed through the back door until they change it to only two which they should. That what will make every one happy and make it fair. The drivers will tell you not to go through the que because they don't want to be stuck having to tell a guest they can't board because the bus is full or they was not close enough to the front to move guest to load them.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I really don't understand, why is it an issue for family members to load at the same time? We frequently travel with 2 ECVs and are usually a party of 7 Sometimes, we wait for several buses, so we can be together. Otherwise, we arrive at different times. It can be difficult, locating your family in a crowd. Although, there are times, we don't have a choice.

 

[disney david]

I really don't understand, why is it an issue for family members to load at the same time? We frequently travel with 2 ECVs and are usually a party of 7 Sometimes, we wait for several buses, so we can be together. Otherwise, we arrive at different times. It can be difficult, locating your family in a crowd. Although, there are times, we don't have a choice.

i tell you because their people out their that have nothing better to do while on vacation but complain.They complained to disney for years about all the seats being taking by all the family member of the guest in the ecv. SO disney had to come up with a policy to try to please everyone.

It should just be the guest in the ecv/wheelchair and one guest and the rest wait for the front door to open. It safer and easier on the driver to do it that way so all they have to worry about is the guest in the chair and not the extra guest. Then when other guest can't get a seat they are the ones that have to deal with the angry guest then when the guest complain they have to deal with it.

 

[dclfun]

It IS difficult to navigate through those queue lines but fortunately the ones for the buses, IMO, are a little wider than the attraction lines. I have to go through with a service dog who doesn't notice the chains as they are above her head, so sometimes she tries to pull me under since she's looking for the quickest way to get us OUT. Lol. Sometimes people who are using ECV's are not as experienced and have a harder time maneuvering because they've not used one before. I'm happy to wait my turn but I'm not happy to get in a queue line and then be pulled out when there is space for other guests and told that I have to wait because all the accessible spaces are taken up by seated guests who either refuse to move or who aren't asked to move. OP, I'm sorry you were hurt and probably quite scared by your experience.

 

[GrammyJudy]

They have been gradually changing all of the bus lines over about the last 2 years to make them mainstream.
I agree that it doesn’t seem to be working well.

I suggest the OP contact Disney and let them know what happened and why this change caused a problem for you. You can start off with this link:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/contact/

I have sent a rather lenghty note to this link. Will let you know if they respond. By the way I said to the supervisor that I thought they made the change because of complaints that HC people were cutting the line and she denied it. The busdriver said he agreed with all I said and said it is much more difficult to load an ECV or WC with othres on the bus so I mentioned that point in my note also.

 

[dntd]

I think this is nuts! Some people who are new at using scooters are dangerous when in close proximity to others,also on the bus there should be no one at all on when they load for safety reasons!

 

[YellowXterra]

I will not do the line again I will drive to the front and I don't care what they say! BTW I didn;t feel Disney did anything to make me feel they cared!

Sorry you had issues, Why should you get front of the line treatment?

 

[disney david]

Sorry you had issues, Why should you get front of the line treatment?

she not asking for any special treatment or front line access all she asking is to board the bus safely like you can. they are supposed to load them first for safety reasons so that why they should not go through the que. Plus they may get on first but they have to wait to exit so they get off the bus last. your boarding a bus if guest have to wait five min so they can load a guest in a wheel chair safely then they have to wait.